Prevalence rates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; the deliberate destruction of one's own body tissue in the absence of suicidal intent) are quite high among adolescents and young
adults, and appear to be increasing. Additionally, NSSI-related content is developing a large presence on mainstream social media websites such as YouTube and Twitter, which could
encourage or normalize NSSI. Yet little research has examined the individuals who post and view NSSI content online or what functions this behavior may serve. A sample of 135 individuals
age 18-37 who had self-injured in the past two weeks (71 individuals who posted NSSI content online [Posters] and 64 who did not post NSSI content online [Non-posters]) were recruited
though social media websites. Results indicated that individuals post NSSI content online to serve two functions: a social motivation function (SM; for the purpose of social attention and
manipulation in order to attain reactions or resources from others or their environment), which was predicted to be more commonly reported, and an emotion, expression, and connection
function (EEC; to regulate and express emotions or to connect with others socially), which, inconsistent with the hypothesis, was found to be more commonly endorsed. Contrary to
expectation, Posters did not have more psychopathology than Non-posters, and the functions of NSSI were similar across groups. Finally, inconsistent with hypotheses, results indicated that
the frequency of posting NSSI content online and time spent looking at NSSI content online was not related to the frequency or duration of NSSI. Although NSSI-related social media use was
not a maintenance factor among adults, future research should examine NSSI-related social media use among adolescents, who may be more strongly influenced by self-injury content on social
media. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2015. / October 1, 2015. / Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, Social Media / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeanette Taylor, Professor Directing Thesis; Thomas E. Joiner, Jr., Committee Member; Colleen Kelley, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_291360 |
| Contributors | Ennis, Chelsea R. (Chelsea Rhianon) (authoraut), Taylor, Jeanette E. (professor directing thesis), Joiner, Thomas (committee member), Kelley, Colleen M. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of Psychology (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (51 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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